Unalaska is a designated ‘port of refuge’ for disabled vessels in the Aleutian Islands, but when it comes to the massive ships that pass by on the Great Circle route, that title doesn’t mean much. That’s because many of them are too big to tie up at the docks and there’s nowhere else for them to securely anchor.

That could change soon though. City Council is holding a special meeting Friday to decide whether to fund an emergency mooring buoy. City Manager Chris Hladick says the process is being rushed because the city is getting help from Shell Oil sub-contractor Harvey Gulf. The company has offered to transport the anchor, chain and buoy up from Louisiana for free, but only if it’s on the boats that are leaving for Alaska next week.

Hladick says the city has already secured $250,000 for the project through the Denali Commission, but Council needs to approve spending the money at Friday’s meeting.

If the money is transferred and the equipment makes it onto the boat, Hladick says the buoy will be installed in Broad Bay sometime this summer.